Born

"But I can overthrow her right?"- Madeline Tulkas

January 21st, 2017, Nisson Temple, Kyoto Japan

Hammy Nakamura wakes up in the early morning and takes her dog Boruto out for a walk in the forest. Her whole clan has been up making preparations for the return of the family patriach's most beloved son, Hotei. She's the youngest daughter of the clan and Hotei is the oldest son, so she is eager to personally show off her maturity by meeting up with him by herself. Following the song of laughter and the jangling of prayer beads she quickly finds Hotei's party.

Hotei and Hammy may be both siblings but they're thousands of years apart. A massive man with a huge drooping belly, elongated ear lobes and a permanent joyous smile, Hotei greets his sister with aplomb, dumping out the contents of a cloth sack at her feet. its candy. Hotei has returned from his journey across the lands spreading alms to needy children, and has come to discuss matters of great import with the clan patraich and his and Hammy's father: the Kami Sussano. Hotei and Hammy talk of the outside world and all its dangers, its Yokai, the clever Kitsune, the harsh Tengu, Hotei tells Hammy that the world is getting smaller every day and that she won't be protected from the outside much longer. Hammy says Boruto will protect her wherever she goes so she has nothing to be afraid of and with that she scales up Hotei's enormous back and he gives her a piggyback ride back to the Nisson Temple.

Somewhere in the Tokyo Metropolis

Meanwhile a different sort of reunion between two siblings happens. A panicked young man rides his bike through the streets of Tokyo, desperate to find his younger brother who has gotten into trouble again. Making his way to an abandoned warehouse, he enters to find his younger brother Khya Rivers surrounded by several unconscious men.

Port of Tokyo

Astrid Snow walks on stage. Opens her mouth to let out that first note. And nothing else matters.

Final stage of her band's world tour and it ends here. People tell the stories, they share the videos online but nothing compares to actually being there. Her voice is all they need to affirm their fate, to assuage their fears, to embrace the oblivion of the end the Norns have foretold. They are the waves and she is the rock. Crash into her.

4 individuals are unaffected however. Madeline Tulkas isn't there for Astrid she's there for her missing girlfriend, who was a frequent goer at this venue. Been a month, no calls, no nothing. So now she searches in a sea of faces looking for her beloved.

She has the misfortune to make eyes with a white women with blonde hair. The two make small talk and the women introduces herself as Ashlyn Avenant, she is here for recruitment. She knows what she wants and she knows how to get it. A middle manager at the conglomerate Hototogisu, she waves two men over. Neither of them know her, but men come when she calls.

The first man is a fisherman from Wales named Andres Jones, he barely knows a word of Japanese and he's never been more isolated than in this city of millions. He walks forward with unease.

The second man is a Haitian street performer, con artist, and gambler by the name of Jean Boneli, he can smell vice from a mile away and he likes the scent of it around Ashlyn. He makes his way through the crowd with an uncanny grace.

Ashlyn asks them if they want to meet Astrid Snow.

Astrid's show comes to an end and she makes her way backstage only to bump into Ash and company. Astrid senses the divine in her and is instantly hostile, telling them she wants nothing to do with her father. Ash says her daddy's in and out of jail and that she doesn't represent the divine, she represents materialism pure and simple, the advancement up the corporate ladder and she promises that said corporation will give them housing, funding, if they sign a contract. She asks them if they want to go out and get a drink to discuss business. Madeline says she doesn't care what the job is as long as Ash uses Hototogisu's resources to find her girlfriend. Oh and that she should still get paid during pee breaks.

Nisson Temple. Kyoto

At the clan of Sussano feasts for their returned brother. The Kami of Chaos emerges, chugging a bowl of sake the size of a dinner table. Exiled from the rest of the Kami for his uncouth ways, Sussano is also considered a pariah due to being a guardian of the Shinto dead in Ne-no-Kuni and is thus considered unclean by his puritan brethren in the heavens above. Sussano tells Hammy the story of the time he destroyed his sister's tent by hurling his enormous turds into the canopy of her tent for the umpteenth time, before he becomes uncharacteristically somber. He and Hammy speak of her potential and that is time for her to see the world, Hammy is apprehensive about the prospect of leaving her home but Sussano encourages her by saying that a person's appearance is not indicative of their potential. He points across the table at jolly fat Hotei and tells her that Hotei is destined to one day become Maitreya; this eras Buddha. His point made, Hotei comes over and the two gods ask Hammy to go out to Tokyo and go to the offices of Hototogisu for a job interview.

The Tanuki's Pouch

In the VIP section of a nearby bar. Ashlyn brings out some paperwork and the pitch to the revlers turned job interviewees. She tells them that the banking firm Hototogisu is more than just a brand, its a symbol of peace in the most populated city on earth. The company hires teams referred to as "Buntais" (squads) to blackmail, broker deals, and spy on the different supernatural communities of the city. Using the relatively peaceful means of extortion, Hototogisu maintains man's superiority over monsters in a city impossible to completely patrol. This Buntai will be number 16 in charge of making peace with the gods, particularly the Kami, the native gods of Japan.

Madeline talks of the inherent issues of cultural imperialism by the sheer virtue of being what they are where they are. They are intruding in a homogenous world and will inevitably bring chaos. It's time for the A.A. meeting to begin in full.

Madeline is the daughter of Zeus. In fact she's the only surviving mortal child of Zeus, he was overthrown centuries ago by his favorite child. The current queen of the Olympians will do anything to wipe her out if she knew about her existence, she came to Japan for her girlfriend but she also came to hide in the crowds away from the queen of Olympus's eyes.

Andres is a descendant from the line of Mordred, the legendary bastard cousin of Arthur who cut each other down during the Battle of Camlann. In exile the traitor trained Andres to be his successor and help him get vengeance on Arthur and the other Knights should they ever return to the World. Andres however sees himself as just a humble fisherman, and wants no part in ancient grudges and chivalry.

Astrid is the daughter of Loki, the half giant who is fated to bring about the death of the Aesir and Midgard during the events of Ragnarok. A skilled shapeshifter like her father, Astrid bears nothing but contempt for his lies and cheats.

Jean is of Papa Legba. A young god who came into existence to test the wit of the West African slaves in the plantations of the Caribbean and befuddle their enemies through mind games.

They are the Scions.

Now properly acquainted, Ash asks the team if they want to be part of a new age of heroes. To maintain order. To gain wealth. To become legends. She will offer them a foundation and security as long as they come to Hototogisu when the board of directors calls to participate in a series of clandestine highly dangerous missions to maintain man's hegemony over Tokyo.

The Scions reluctantly agree. And Buntai 16 is formed.

Hototogisu Building, Shibuya, Tokyo

A young Japanese man named Khya Rivers and his guardian make their way through the drab offices of Hototogisu, his guardian tells him to be careful and not trust these Scions and especially Ash. Especially because even after his Visitation, Ash has no idea who his divine parent is. Embarrassed he tells his guardian he'll be fine and enters a meeting room to meet the rest of Buntai 16. The team take each other in but are most concerned by the 14 year old schoolgirl who's been chosen to be the final member of the team: Hammy Nakamura.

The adventure log is where you list the sessions and adventures your party has been on, but for now, we suggest doing a very light “story so far” post. Just give a brief overview of what the party has done up to this point. After each future session, create a new post detailing that night’s adventures.

One final tip: Don’t stress about making your Obsidian Portal campaign look perfect. Instead, just make it work for you and your group. If everyone is having fun, then you’re using Obsidian Portal exactly as it was designed, even if your adventure log isn’t always up to date or your characters don’t all have portrait pictures.